JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Five years ago this week, Hurricane Irma caused some of the worst flooding in Jacksonville's history.
It’s a sight many in the area won’t ever forget. San Marco Boulevard was one of the areas affected. Businesses say the flooding caused damage that took months to repair.
“We found the building with close to three feet of water outside and about 18 inches of water inside of the building,” said Todd Hogan, Office Environments and Services CFO.
The bank of the St. Johns River spilled across the road for miles. Hogan says the flooding cost the business hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and took nine months to repair.
“We had a crew come in and cut out four feet of sheet rock from around the building, once that was out we had electricians raise our plugs from normal height to two feet, so they are higher now,” Hogan said.
Flame Broiler is right across the street from Office Environments and Services and General Manager Ashley Hardin says the restaurant sustained more than $90,000 of water damage and took ten weeks to repair.
“The entire floor was flooded like all of this paneling, like these shelves and cabinets you see pretty much had to be demolished and rebuilt,” General Manager Ashley Hardin said.
Now, five years later, Hogan says his workplace has even implemented preventative measures to protect the building.
“We put a film on the windows for flying stuff. If something were to hit the window we don't have to put plywood over it anymore,” Hogan said.
The businesses on San Marco Boulevard say it’s typical for the area to flood and say they’ve done what they can to ensure the safety of themselves and the business if another storm approaches.